Coke wharf



Jan. 27, 1931. J, RREGAN l 1,790,247

' com.1 wHARF Filed May 6.Y\1929 Patented Jan, 27, k1931 v.Tenn r. REeAmo'r'YnNGsrowN, oHIorv colin'v winrar" fnpigncation alec May e, 192e.1 serial No. 360,712.

' In the .manufacture offby-product coke, the

Vcoke is discharged from 'the ovens into suitable cars, usually of the side-dump hopper' type, and carried to aquenching'station` Where water is sprayed onto thered hot coke to partially cool it, sufficient heat being left inthe coke, however, to drive off excess moisture. The cars are then yrouted to the coke wharf which comprises, essentially, a longitu- 1@ dinally extending deck downwardly-inclined from its upper to its lower edge; the coke is dumped from the cars onto this deck from the car at its upper edge and allowed tov remain on the deck for a length of time at least suiiicient '15 to permit it to steam, dry and cool. Owing to the inclination of the `deck thecoke slides, down transversely thereof as it isdumped thereon, and for preventing the coke from prematurely sliding oif the deck, it has there- 2c fore kbeen customary to provide adjacent the lower edge thereof a series of vertically-movable Gates arranged side by side and individually manually operable-through suitable operating levers from a platform paralleling the deck and upon which the .operator stands when manipulating the gates. Be-

tween the loweredge of the deck and the platform in a position to receive thecokeas it is discharged through thegates lwhen 3a the latter are lifted, a longitudinally extend'- ing conveyor is ordinarily arranged by means of which'the cooled cokeis conveyed to the shipping cars or other suitable point.

To permit the discharge of the cooled coke T from the deck with suficient rapidity and in suiiicient volume, it has,V further been customary to makeeach gate ofcon'siderable length with the result that the gates afrein-` dividually extremely heavy` and, therefore 40' diiicult to' operate, especially as the weight of the coke pressing on thetupper or inner faces of the gates enhances the difficulty of raising them, so that the V,menoperatingthe gates are frequently injure-d "throughthe overexertion required' for their manipulation'.

On the other hand, if the length ofthe" individual gates is reduced to a point at which l they can be safely.operated,.the;number of' gates for a given length of wharfis'c'orrespondlngly increased with resultant increase ,of the; invention as illustratedl in' theaccomininstallation and-,upkeep costs as welly as reduction intheilmount of coke which can.V be discharged through each gat-e whereby the speed'with which a given quantity of cok'e,

can be transferred from the 'deck'toz the con- 555 vey'o-ris necessarily'cut down and the time.

required therefor increased.

A principal object ofv invention, there-j y fore, isthe provisionv of a coke'wharffso constrnctedzand arranged that while the dis'- Gig, chargegates are of a size to permitv them to beieasilyandsafely manipulated, the quantityofcoke which can be discharged from thedeckthrough each gate each time that it `islifted is equal or substantially equal'to V65'V that 'which can be'discharged' from 'agate ofVA twice the length when the Wharf is constructed inthe ordinary manner. l n

A further object jof the'inventionl is tol pro.- vide a coke wharf so' arranged that while the 70 l gates are small enough for convenient manip'- u'lation, they are capable of delivering coke tothe conveyor up to itsfull capacityso that coke can be discharged'y from the deck of the wharf at maximum speed'. l

A; still further object ofthe invention is toreduce the number lof gates 'recpnired in a given length of wharfto satisfactorily effect the discharge ef the coke therefrom vwhereby the cost of installation of the'wharf as a' whole is reduced as well as the maintenance expense necessary for keeping'the gates in proper operating condition; i

-My invention further includes vother obie-'ctsY and novel features of design, construction and arrangement hereinafter more particularlypointedout or which will heapparent to those` skilled-inthe art from the followingl description of certain embodiments other parts omitted-and certain portions of the gate structure being shown in section;

, Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan View illusthe coke wharf comprises a transversely in-g clined deck 1 carried on a foundation generally designated as 2 of any sui-tablel type and which may also forma support for the tracks 3 on which 'the hopper cars may b'e run along the rear upper edge of: the' deck,

which it will be' understood is of' indeinite lengt-hand constructed of brick'or other suitable material. Adjacent the front or lower edge of: the deck and in a' position to receive the coke as 1t is discharged therefrom, a longitudinally extending belt conveyor, gener-I allydesi'gnated a'sl, is arranged mthe usual way; by means of this conveyor the cooled Vcoke is carried to the shipping cars vor other point. @n the opposite side of the conveyor from thatonwhich the deck is located is arranged an' elevated longitudinally extending platform or walk 5 gA this walk, as shown, may comprise almetal plate' supportedl between a wall 6 and uprights 7 disposed nea-r the edge of the' conveyor and is located at a height suitable to permit convenient opera- 'tion of the gate handles, hereinafter de'- scrihed by anoperator standing' on the walk. The various parts to which referenceV has heretoforebeen made are commonly found in coke wharves as heretofore constructed and thus require no further or more extended description; their details of arrangement and specific features of construction are a matter of choice. i

The uprights 't'k additionally form supports for brackets 10 upon which the several gates, generally designated as G, are pivotally mounted and each of which may comprise in the usual way a plate-like portion 12 which forms the gateproper and which may be curved on an' arc struck from the pivotal center-of the gate so as to present a slightly convexed surface toward the deck; this platelike port-ion is carried on a suitable frame work 13 extending toward the brackets 10' to which the gate as a whole ispivoted on a. horizontal pivot 14j. From a point adjacent the pivot an operating lever 415 is extended upward in a.v generally vertical direction7 turned Yover horizontally at its upper end toward the walk or platform 5l and provided at itsV extremity with a cross bar 16 which may beconveniently grasped by thel operator struts 17 are desirably extended between the gate frame 13Y and the lever 15 se as to firmly l brace the structure as a whole'. It will thus be apparent that by pullingrits cross bar 16 More particularly from an'inspection of v Figs. 1 and 3, it will be noted the gates G are arranged in longitudinally spaced relation adjacent the lower edge of the deck and thatbetween each pair of gates'is disposed a baflie Vgenerally designated as B and comprisirrg two walls-20, 21 arranged at an angle of approximately 90 to each other with the corner or edge 522 formed at the juncture of theiroute'r' faces lying midway between the ya'djacent gates and directed toward the upper'edge ofthe wharf, the walls* being of sufficient length to extend slightly behind theV gates sothat when Vthe latter are closed, each` gate forms' a relatively tight lit between the adjacent baffles. As shown, the baies are o-f approximately the-same height as the gates and' arefseated on the upper'fa'ce of the' deck; they are' desirably constructed of brick or other suitable material and may be reinforced. in the re-entrant angle formed between` their adjacent walls and also" on their endswith supports 24 formed of angle iron. It will be observed that the point or apex 22 of eachl baffle lies substantiallymidway between the adjacent gates and that the distance between the apices of adjacent baffles measured longitudinally of the'4 wharf is substantially twice the width of the gate which lies between them.

It will thusbe apparent that the adjacent bafflesv form a pocket in rear of, that is, above,

each gate, the sides of which respectively incline toward the latter, whereby the coke as itslides down the face o'f the deck and en'- counters thebatlles is deflected inwardly in opposite vdirections toward the gate and fur-Y ther, that when the gate isI lifted all of the cokelying on the deck in the area included in the' pocket itself-f aswell as' that substantially defined parallel lines running from the points of the' adjacent baflies' transversely of the deck to its upp'er'edge will passthrough the gate,so that the amount of cokedeliv- Vered therefromto the conveyor will besubstantially equalto the amount that; would be; delivered thereto by the lifting vof a=. 'gate of' double'its lengtliin the absence of the' baifles. It will further be noted that the pressure en each-gate ofthe cokeflying in the areawhieh is drained thereby-` as jujst described and which, of course, is one of the factors contributing te the 'difficulty of raising the gated is by no mean-s as great in a coke wharf constructed in accordance with my inventionas it is when agate .o'f the full width of asimilar area ifs employed, for a considerable amount of thev weight of the the gate can be quickly drained of coke and in size and weight of the gate aswell as inv thev reduction of pressure thereon to whichr reference has just been made, to raisethe gate relatively easily and without undue ex ertion, thus obviating all chance of injury to the operator while, on the other handthe relatively large area of the wharf lying above the conveyor thereby maintained fully loaded and at maximum operating efficiency at all times. y

It is customary inthe operation of coke wharves to hold any given gate open until the area drained thereby is fully depleted of n coke, after which that gate is closed and the next gate opened. Under these conditions in the operation of coke wharves constructed in accordance with my invention, a certain amount of coke is sometimes deflected by the baffles into a pocket which has been previously emptied while the adjacent pocket is being drained, with the result that this deflected coke remains in the previously emptied pocket until the gatethereof is again opened instead of passing into the adjacent pocket and being drained therefrom with the rest of the coke originally in the area lying above it. To obviate this possibility and insure the'draining through each gate of substantially all of the coke lying above the pocket with which it communicates, a partition conveniently in the form of a metal plate 25 may beextended from the apex of each baffle toward the upper l edge of the deck transversely of the latter.

These partitions, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, may desirably be of slightly less height than the adjacent bafflesA and are supported in vertical position in any convenientvway, for example byproviding the plates 25 with feet 26 adjacent their lower edges and bolt` ing or otherwise securing the feet to the deck. Under certain conditions it'may be found desirable to form the partitions of brick work instead'of metal plates, andwhile satisfactory results may usually be obtained when the partitions are extended only part way across the'deck as shown, they may, if desired, be carried entirelyA thereacross and terminated adjacent the upper edge of the deck.

It will thus be understood that the partitions when provided are effective to prevent any material amount of the coke which initially liesabove any given pocket from being deflected into the adjacent pocket when the first pocket is being drained with the result that when any given pocket is emptied it remains substantially in that condition until a new charge of coke is dumped on the deck substantially above it from one of the conveying cars running on the track 3. The defrequently be determined by the-particular sirability of employing the partitions`25' will i operating' conditions Iencounteredv suchas the condition of th'evcoke when it reaches 'the wharf, the inclination of the latter and'- other like factors whichi-:will'Qbe .readily appreciated by those familiar-withthe art.

Thilo I have herein-referred Ymorefpar-` i ticularly to the employment of'my invention j in connectionfwith coke wharves provided with manuallyoperated gates, it will be unav derstood that the inven'tionmay be. employed?.l

with equal facility inconnection'withthose- Y having mechanically operated .gates and under suchconditions .Will present many of the advantages Vand .desirable features tov whichlflhave hereinl referredyalthough of, coursev the avoidance of overstrain and pos.-

the gates are :mechanicallyroperatedl-. l 5 While IJhave herein describedcertain eme bodiments ofmy invention withconsiderable vfor individually raising and lowering eachV of said gates, and a baffle disposed between each pair of gates and comprising walls re-V `sible injury to. the operator in raising the gatesV 1s not :afactor to loeconsidered*wherey lparticularity,'l do notthereby desireorimY I l spectively lying adjacent thee-nds lof the,"

gates at their lower 'extremities and' convergf ing upwardly and inwardly to a point of intersection located nearerthevupper edge of;Y the deck than thegates, the Alongitudinal dis-- tance between adjacent points of intersectionv gate includedbetween them. Y f

being substantiallv'twice the width of .the'fj y l `2. A coke whar'fh'aving a longitudinally extending transversely inclineddeck adapted for thereception of coke adjacent its upper Y edge, a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertically movable gates adjacent the lower edge of the deck, means for individually raising and lowering each of said gates, and a baffle disposed between each pair of gates and vcomprising walls respectively lyingadjacent the 125 ends of the gateszat their lower extremities and converging upwardly and inwardly to a Y line substantially normalto the plane of the deck and located nearer the upper edge ofv the deck than the gates, baffle measured longitudinally in the plane of thel width of the the gates: being substantially equal tot` the adapted to vbe individually raised and'low' lengthv of eitlier gatel and the distance between adjacent lines'of convergence measured in theplaiie of the deck'being substantially v equal'totwice the length of either gate.

3. il coke .wharf 'comprising a longitudinally extending transversely inclined deck adapted to receive cokepadjacent its upper edge, a plurality of longitudinally spaced gates disposed adjacent its Vlower edge and ered, 'means for raising'andflowering the gates, a V-shaped bailleV disposed between each pair of` gates and havingits apex directed toward the upper'edge of the deck, and a partition extending from the apex ofthe baffle toward saidA Lipper edge transversely. of the deck.'V`V l 4. A' coke wharf comprising a longitudinally .extending transversely inclined deck adapted tofreceive coke adjacent'its upper' edge, a plurality of longitudinally spaced gates disposedadjacent its Vlower'edge adapted to `be individually raised and lowered, means for manually raising and lowering the gates, a baffle disposed between each pair ci gates comprising'-inwardly converging walls respectively extending from each gate to the apex of the baffle and disposed normal to the face of the deck, and a partition wall also normal to the face of the deck extending from the apex of the baille toward the upper edge of the deck. f Y l j 5. A coke wharf comprising a longitudinally-extending transversely inclined deck, a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertically movable gates adjacent the lower edge of the f deck, manually operable means for individually raising and lowering each of` said gates,

andk a V-sliaped Ybaiie disposed between each pair of gates havingits apex directed toward the upperedgeof the deck and its wall disposed normal to the face thereof, the adjacent balies being operative to form individual pockets for the reception of the cokey above-V each gate, the maximum width of each pocket being substantially twice that of the subjacent gate. Y Y .4.

In witness whereof, I .have hereunto rset my hand this 30th day of April, 1929.

.v Y Y JOHN F. REGAN. 

